Mars Snackfood is introducing a new line of premium M&M’s, The New York Times reported Thursday.
The premium sweets, which have shed their traditional candy coating, come in five new flavors: mint chocolate, mocha, triple chocolate, raspberry almond, and chocolate almond. 
The Times reported that Mars hopes the new M&M’s will capitalize on the current demand for higher priced chocolate.  The story noted that Premium chocolate sales grew 17.8% for the year ended June 14, compared with 1.4% for non-premium chocolate, according to Nielsen.

U.S. consumers are buying more wine in the $9 to $12 price bracket — with sales in this range up more than 12% from last year, according to Nielsen.
Noting that trend, the Chicago Tribune recently offered tips for selecting good but inexpensive wines. 
“With the economy nose-diving and costs rising, what we all really need is a good, cheap, drink,” Bill Daley, the Tribune’s food and wine critic, wrote Wednesday.

Just one in seven people with savings in India are aware of mutual fund investment opportunities, Livemint.com (India) reported Tuesday.
Mutual funds are most popular in urban areas, as well as in northern India and in well-developed western states like Gujarat and Maharashtra, according to Kalyan Karmakar, Associate Director, Customized Research, Nielsen. 
Meanwhile, investors in the eastern and the southern regions of the country still focus on land and gold, Karmakar noted.
“There is a huge portion of India which is yet to participate and be a part of the mutual fund bandwagon,” he told Livemint.
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More than half (55%) of UK consumers are cutting back on food purchases, Nielsen reported Wednesday.  Last year, Nielsen’s Homescan survey found that just a third (36%) of UK consumers were trying to reduce grocery spending.  
Meanwhile, sales at low-cost food retailers are growing.  In the last 12 weeks, Tesco’s sales were up 6.1% over the same time perod last year. Sales at Asda (+8.9%) and Morrison’s (+9.5%) grew by even larger percentages during the same period.
“Shoppers have been making fewer visits to the major supermarkets,” Mike Watkins, Senior Manager, Retailer …

In the U.S., food and gasoline prices are surging — along with unemployment, personal debt, and foreclosure rates.
These are just a few of the economic pressures that have forced U.S. consumers to change the “what, when and how” of their spending, James Russo, Vice President, Food Sector Marketing, Nielsen, writes in the July issue of Nielsen’s “Consumer Insight” online newsletter.
Drawing on data culled from across Nielsen’s global marketing, media, entertainment, and retailing services, Russo demonstrates how consumers and retailers are adapting to the tough economic conditions. His advice for manufacturers …

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that American shoppers are abandoning more expensive alternatives and trading down — to store brands, smaller cars, and discount stores.
With bargain-hunting and coupon-clipping all the rage, deep-discounters are seeing increased business, while pricier retailers are losing customers.  The story noted that visits to department stores are down 6% this year, down 7% at office-supply stores, and down 10% at home-improvement retailers, according to Nielsen.

New research from The Nielsen Company and Bevinco reveals that bars and restaurants are feeling the effects of the current economic downturn.
More than 40% of bar managers, bar owners, and bartenders surveyed in May report they have seen a decrease in consumer traffic, while 25% note a decrease in the number of drinks ordered and 22% say that customers are ordering less expensive drinks. 
Establishments on the East and West coasts report the greatest declines, with owners and operators in California and Florida citing significant decreases in consumer traffic — 55% …